


Hello Lydia

by The_Jade_Goblin



Series: Matchmaker Lydia [2]
Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: M/M, malec pre-slash, matchmaker!lydia - Freeform, oblivious!alec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-25 06:56:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6185056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Jade_Goblin/pseuds/The_Jade_Goblin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A much requested sequel to "Goodbye Magnus", which I'm pleased to announce will now be a trilogy work. </p><p>The engagement is set. But Alec will never be happy, Lydia knows this, knows that the only way for her husband-to-be to be happy is to be with Magnus. She needs a plan, and she needs one now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Magnus Bane?”

Magnus looked up from his scribbling, making his edits on the Clave’s copy of his report, and spotted the blonde that had been spying on them previously. He frowned, wanting to know what she wanted. Blackmail probably.

“Lydia Branwell,” she introduced with a smile, holding out her hand to the warlock.

“So _you’re_ Lydia,” Magnus got to his feet and immediately took her hand, kissing the back of it with a forced smile. “It’s a pleasure.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Lydia beamed. “I’ve been very excited to meet you,”

“Excited to meet _me_? Really?” Magnus’ eyes widened slightly. “Not many Shadowhunters are happy to see me let alone want to meet me,”

But Lydia just kept beaming at him, looking like a little girl at Christmas.

“I’m sort of a fan.” She admitted. “I believe you knew my ancestor, Henry Branwell?”

“Henry? Yes I remember him well.” Magnus smiled. “A most intelligent man as I recall, one of the few Shadowhunters I’ve ever been able to stand.”

Lydia laughed. “You and Shadowhunters aren’t very well acquainted then?”

“I wouldn’t say that, we’re very much acquainted. They don’t like me and I don’t like them. With a few exceptions.” Magnus shrugged.

“Exceptions like the Lightwoods,” Lydia smiled. “My fiancée Alec mentioned he knew you. He spoke highly of your skill as a warlock.”

“Alec flatters me, I’m just as skilled as any other High Warlock,” Magnus smiled softly, thinking of Alec in the back of his mind.

“Not according to him,” Lydia said. “In fact, I was just wondering, if I could watch you work?”

“My work at the moment isn’t very interesting, it’s mostly just paperwork. However you’re welcome to observe me when I have a client in Brooklyn to attend to if you wish,” Magnus replied.

“I would love to!” Lydia gushed. “I’ve never observed a warlock in the field before, and Alec says you’re one of the best. I can’t wait to watch you work, thank you Magnus!”

“Anytime my dear,” Magnus smiled.

A sweet woman it seemed, that lessened the sting in Magnus’ heart just a little, knowing the woman Alec would be marrying wasn’t unpleasant. It wouldn’t be right to hate her anyway, the girl did nothing wrong, she wanted to help Alec and Magnus of all people understood that desire.

And invite her he did, when he was called in to help a young warlock child with demon poisoning. He called Lydia to let her know she could observe his work if she truly wanted to, and she was at his loft within ten minutes. She watched him with wide eyes as he worked his magic over the injured warlock, fascinated and full of wonder. Just like Alec whenever he performed magic.

“I must admit, I’ve never been watched this closely while working,” he commented, cradling the young girl’s head in one hand as he worked his magic over the wounds on her neck.

“I’m sorry am I distracting you? Do you want me to stop watching?” Lydia asked.

“No you’re fine, it’s just new to me.” Magnus replied. “I’m almost done extracting the poison, would you mind holding Sophie down for this next stage? She might struggle, she’ll be in a bit of pain.”

Lydia got up and held the girl down as she jolted in pain, gasping and struggling against Magnus’ magic. After a few tense moments Sophie stilled, and Magnus sighed, slightly tired.

“There.” He breathed. “It’s done. She’ll wake up in a few hours, but before that I need to tend to her wounds, stop the bleeding and risk of infection.”

Lydia watched transfixed as Magnus gathered up several different potions and salves to treat the Sophie’s wounds, bandaging her up when the job was done.

“Amazing.” Lydia commented. “Simply amazing,”

“Thank you,” Magnus ducked his head, as though the compliment made him shy. “I’ve certainly come a long way from the days where I would have been killed for using magic. Even now not many appreciate the skills of a warlock,”

“Downworlders have much to offer, more so than us.” Lydia replied. “Why should we not learn from you, and live with you? Our worlds can help each other do great things if we let old prejudices die,”

“Such forward thinking from an envoy of the Clave,” Magnus chuckled. “You sure you’re a Shadowhunter my dear? Sadly the reality is that many of us have been far too hurt by Shadowhunters for far too long to see passed that. I know in my own case I’ve learned to keep to myself, trusting very few Shadowhunters, if any.”

“Sadly true,” Lydia sighed.

Magnus picked up the little Sophie, and delivered her to her parents, who were waiting anxiously in the living room. They thanked Magnus had handed him a magic amulet as payment. Magnus nodded in thanks, and saw them out. He went into his storeroom to place his potions back in their shelves.

“Thank you for letting me observe, I appreciate it.” Lydia smiled.

“Any time my dear.” Magnus smiled back.

“I hope we can be friends Magnus, I feared you would hate me in principle,”

“Why would I hate you on principle?” Magnus’ brow creased slightly.

 “Well…with me marrying Alec,” Lydia said, shrugging in a sort of awkward manner.

“I was under the impression Alexander proposed, it’s not as if you seduced him the minute you walked in. And why would that bother me…?”

Lydia smiled. “I’m aware of your feelings for Alec.”

Magnus paused in his putting away a potion, seeming to freeze in place. How long had she known? _How_ did she know? What did she hear that day Alec came to talk to him?

“I – ah…I can…I can explain that –” Magnus started, but Lydia held up a hand to stop him.

“It’s okay Magnus, it’s perfectly alright.” She assured him. “I’ve seen the way he looks when he talks about you, whether he’s aware of that or not. And I may have…heard a little more than I should have, before.”

She laughed at Magnus’ petrified expression. “Magnus!” she cried. “Don’t worry, I’m happy!”

“You’re…you mean you…you’re happy?” Magnus didn’t understand.

“I haven’t known Alec very long, I don’t know much about him, but he seems to have a connection with you. I want him to be happy, he was so upset when he told you we were engaged. I can sort of relate you could say, and I want to help.”

“But you’re marrying him,” Magnus said.  

“Publicly, yes. To keep his family in power. I hope we can be good friends, but that’s all I hope for. I don’t want Alec to be stuck in an unhappy marriage, as a friend I want him to be happy. I think he can find that with you,”

Magnus looked like he’d been slapped. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Are you actually suggesting I have an affair with your husband?” he said incredulously.

Lydia laughed. “This is New York Magnus, happens all the time.”

“You…are a very strange woman Lydia.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So? Asked him out yet?” Lydia said as she shovelled the noodles into her mouth with her chopsticks.

Magnus looked over his own food at her. They had gotten take-out from a local restaurant when Lydia came around to ‘observe his skills’ once again.

“Lydia, he’s engaged. He won’t entertain the idea of dating me while he’s involved with you. You might not know this but I do, Alexander is a very loyal man, even if what he feels for you isn’t romantic, the principle of cheating alone is something he won’t even consider.”

“So that’s a no then,” Lydia said.

Magus laughed. “As desperate as you are to hook us up, yes. I haven’t heard from him since the day he told me you were getting married.”

“No, really? He wasn’t called you once? For anything?” Lydia’s eyes bugged out of her head. “That jerk!”

Magnus laughed harder at the outraged expression on her face. “Lydia!” he gasped out through his giggles. “You can’t…you can’t seriously be upset with him for _not_ cheating on you!”

Lydia grinned. “Sure I can.”

Magnus rolled his eyes and shook his head fondly. He’d made a friend in Lydia over the last few weeks, as strange as that sounded to him.

“Where did you say this food was from again?” Lydia asked, picking up some more noodles.

“Indonesian restaurant. I used to eat this sort of thing as a child” Magnus said. “It’s not the same as I remember, but then again I was born a long time ago. All food tasted different back then. And it wasn’t called Indonesia then either.”

“Your homeland is Indonesia then?”

Magnus shrugged. “I don’t identify too much with the modern Indonesia, but yes. I sort of ordered the food out of instinct though, I remember it was something Alexander liked, the time I convinced him to stay for breakfast with me.”

“It’s good food, Alec has good taste.” Lydia replied. She smirked over at him. “I notice you call him Alexander, does he say anything about that?”

Magnus smirked. “Not a word. But I did hear him tell off another Downworlder at Pandemonium who called him Alexander.”

Lydia made a cooing sound that Magnus brushed off with a grin. “Oh hush, it’s nothing.”

“Nothing he says. He likes you,” Lydia smiled.

“So you say.” Magnus rolled his eyes. “I haven’t heard from him since the last time he was here in fact. It’s so hard to tell if he’s even remotely interested. Isabelle said it’s because he’s not exactly…what did she say…’warm and fuzzy’. But he seems to be perfectly warm and sweet to me.”

“Because he likes you!” Lydia cried. “He’s just caught up in duty,”

“Ugh, don’t I know it,” Magnus muttered, stabbing his food with his chopsticks angrily.

Lydia seemed to pout at him in that moment. “I’ll talk to him, encourage him to call you.”

Magnus pursed his lips. “Lydia my dear, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but there are certain things I’m not willing to do, even for love.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve always been free to be with who I want, without having to compromise my morals and my beliefs. If I were to attempt to be with Alexander while he was married to you, I’d have to keep that private. I refuse to be hidden away like some shameful secret.”

“Oh, oh yes I understand that.” Lydia murmured. “I didn’t think about that. Then what can we do?”

Magnus sighed. “Nothing to do my dear,”

“You can’t give up! Don’t you love him?”

Magnus smiled sadly. “It doesn’t matter, I gave up on love a hundred years ago, it’s not meant for me.”

“No no you can’t think that!” Lydia jumped up and grasped Magnus’ hands, her face earnest and honest. “I promise I’ll fix this. I can talk to the Clave, work something out, I can do something to help the Lightwoods so Alec doesn’t have to marry me.”

“You’re doing so much to help, but you’ve no idea if Alec even wants what I do. _I_ don’t even know if Alec wants this, wants me.”

“Magnus even if he doesn’t, we both know he doesn’t want to marry me, he just thinks he has to. If he doesn’t have to, you have your chance to try. I’ll make that happen I swear.”

“I’ll admit…that’s not what I expected.” Magnus said slowly with a smile. “But then again, I shouldn’t expect anything less from _you_. Thank you Lydia, consider yourself added to the list of Shadowhunters I can stand.”

Lydia smiled, and stood up. “I’ll go back to the Institute right now, and I promise you that I’ll make sure Alec calls you tonight. Who knows, I may need your assistance again and be forced to call you back in,”

Magnus laughed as she winked and headed to the door, waving him goodbye. Maybe she could manage to do it, maybe she couldn’t, Magnus wasn’t sure. Magnus wasn’t sure about anything at the moment, but one thing was for sure – he liked Alec, and as his phone began to ring later that night, and Alec’s name showed up on the screen, a wide smile appeared on his face. Maybe Lydia could pull this off after all, maybe they’d all get a happy ending. Magnus wasn’t experienced in Happy Endings, but maybe he could make himself believe in them again.

“Magnus Bane,” he answered with a smile. “Oh Alexander! I’m so glad you called me. To what do I owe the pleasure?”


End file.
